1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a method and apparatus for image capturing tamper detection.
2. Description of the Related Art
Tampering with an image capturing apparatus, such as a surveillance camera, may be considered to be changes in the appearance of the captured image that can compromise the integrity or usefulness of the capture image. Specifically, tampering can result from both deliberate and unintended physical handling of the device or from environmental conditions. For example, tampering may include scenarios where a fixed camera is moved or shaken, appearance of the video suddenly changes from lights being turned on or off, obstructions being placed in the camera view, or manipulation of the camera's lens, e.g. changes to aperture, focus, or zoom setting. In FIG. 1(a) shows an image pair illustrating camera movement before and after, FIG. 1(b) shows lights being turned from on to off, and FIG. 1(c) shows a camera view being obstructed by an object.
Thus, the ability of the apparatus to detect tampering without human supervision is of great utility with many applications in surveillance and business analytics. Automatic detection of changes which are true tamper events is challenging because the apparatus must be robust to benign events, such as objects in the scene that are large but do not completely obstruct the view as well as camera jitter caused by wind.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and/or an apparatus for an improved image capturing tampering detection.